Four Californian climbers are the main characters in this film: Lito Tejada-Flores, Gary Colliver, Richard McCracken, and Glen Denny who did most of the filming. The climb was done for the purpose of filming breathtaking imagery and to bring out the subjective impressions of the experience itself rather than to document a single climb. A 914 metre granite face called "El Capitan" in the Yosemite Valley was chosen to demonstrate the four Californian climbers technical ability and daring.